State of the Student 2019

 

NHS Field

On Thursday, October 31st, we ran our fifth annual State of the Student Day. This day was dedicated as a time for the Northwood High School community to embrace the whole child approach to educating our students as we encouraged them to come together to support and encourage each other. The theme of this year’s State of the Student Day was #NHSbettertogether.

The desire for such a day emerged from past staff meetings about overall student well-being, student feedback about ways they could be supported, and our ongoing school-wide action plan to address these issues. We view day this as a chance to connect with students outside of the typical classroom routines and help them see that there are ways in which they can help themselves. By working with our students to identify all of the ways they can create a community on campus and connect with their peers, we hope our students will begin to see how working together can offer endless possibilities moving forward.

This was just a glimpse of what we were hoping to address with all of our students on October 31st and throughout the rest of the school year. Issues such as these also continue to fall in line with our Challenge Success initiative of valuing genuine engagement, balance, and growth for the good of our students and our community. You can find more information about this initiative by clicking on the following link.

On October 31, students followed a modified schedule. The day began in Advisement at 9am. This was followed by a period of “Choice” for all students. During this rotation, clubs on campus offered a series of workshops from which students were able to choose. All students were required to sign-up and attend a “choice” workshop during this time. Following the “Choice” rotation, students attended their Period 4 class (with content delivered by their regular P4 teacher) and then a culminated activity back in Advisement to end the day. Here is the overall schedule of the day. You can also find it on the NHS website.

The day also included an extended lunch from 12:05-12:45. Thanks to the generous support of the NHS PTSA and local business community, we were able to provide lunch for all students and staff, free of charge. We also included some activities for the students during this time including a staff vs. students kickball game and other activities put on by our ASB! 

Finally, we remind you that this was a day for all NHS students. As such, attendance was expected. Similar to any other school day, all absences need to be cleared through the attendance office. Only verified absences will be excused (eg. Illness, Funeral, Court, Religious…).

The Northwood staff was excited to use this time to engage with students about how they approach their education. We appreciate your support.

SoS Poster